Tuesday

As a Matter of Fact,

You Can Make

a Difference

I was blessed with the crazy notion, the wild-eyed foolishness and the complete wackiness to believe in the simple idea that I could make a difference in the world. With Ralph Waldo Emerson's famous quote..."To know one life breathed easier because you lived, this is to have succeeded." as my mantra, I find myself forever searching for ways to reach out and touch another persons life...even if it's just a poke in the ol' funny bone.

Now don't think I'm getting all pious and saintly on you. There has been a monumental payoff in it for me. For you see, this quest has blessed me with a life that is far more than just worth

living... it is also worth dying for. Through this roller coaster ride I seem to be on, I have learned that life is not about finding yourself, but rather about creating it. And that life is not only about enduring to the end...but enjoying to the end as well. Although I've had to endure my share of low points, I realized that reaching outside my comfort zone, especially during those times when it was most difficult, inevitably pulled me through and gave my life meaning. I found that I could not only rise by lifting others, but that I could endure the criticism of false friends, bear burdens I didn't know existed and build lasting relationships that have touched my soul beyond description. Now my heart starts to tingle when I think of the possibilities to find ways to help, inspire, energize and empower women to look beyond their own realm and search for something greater, grander and bigger than themselves. For me, it has made all the difference in my life.

It's easy to talk yourself into believing that you don't have the time, the energy or resources to make any kind of real difference in the world. It's even easier to play the "humility card" and say you simply don't have the talent for it. But when you are finished with all the excuses and even have yourself convinced, remember this: Your playing small serves no one. And in the end, the greatest tragedy you may face is not that you didn't make a difference, but that you didn't try.